Black Tiger Spring (Chinese: 黑虎泉) is an artesian karst spring located in the city of Jinan (濟南), Shandong Province (山東省), China. The spring is ranked as the second most significant among the 72 named springs in Jinan, after Baotu Spring (趵突泉).
According to folklore, there was a black rock lying in front of the cave in ancient times.The name of Black Tiger Spring is said to be derived from the shape and color of the rock, which resembled a black tiger.
The water of the spring stems from moderately-deep circulation and emerges from a water-filled limestone cave in a steep cliff.
From the mouth of the cave, the water is funneled to flow out of the mouths of three ornamental stone-carved tiger heads into a square-shaped spring pool.
The water from Black Tiger Spring runs into the old city moat, next to which the spring is located.
Black Tiger Spring and Baotu Spring are both indicators of groundwater level in Jinan, if the water flow is strong, it means that the groundwater has not yet dried up.
There are a large number of natural springs in Jinan City, that’s why it is called "Spring City".
